Bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria: Microorganisms of potential biotechnological importance for the dairy industry

Bacteriocins are a heterogeneous group of ribosomally synthesized, extracellularly released, bioactive peptides or proteins displaying antimicrobial activity against other bacteria. Over the last two decades, there has been an explosion of basic and applied research on lactic acid bacteria (LAB) bacteriocins, primarily due to their potential application as biopreservatives in food and food products to inhibit the growth of food‐borne bacterial pathogens. Although bacteriocins can be produced in the food matrix during food fermentation (in situ), bacteriocins by LAB can be produced in much higher amounts during in vitro fermentations under optimal physical and chemical conditions. Because of the complexity of the food matrix and the difficulty of quantifying bacteriocin activities in foods, in vitro studies can be performed to simulate and study the in situ functionality of bacteriocinogenic starters. In situ bacteriocin production is most promising for a fast, widespread, and legal use of bacteriocins to achieve the desirable fermentation and a safe final product. The bacteriocin production may be of utmost importance when bacteriocin‐producing LAB are added to foods as starters or protective cultures (adjunct culture). In the current review, our interest is mainly focused on the research of in situ bacteriocin production through finding the potential of the bacteriocinogenic cultures, which have biotechnological importance for the dairy industry.